Senegal President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said profits from the sale of oil and gas will be “well managed” as the West African state began producing oil for the first time.
Australian energy giant Woodside described the extraction as a “historic day” and an “important milestone” for the company and the country.
The Sangomar deepwater project, which also has gas, aims to produce 100,000 barrels of oil per day.
It is expected to generate billions of dollars for Senegal and boost its economy.
Thierno Ly, general manager of national oil company Petrosen, said the country entered a “new era” when production began on Tuesday.
“We have never been better positioned for opportunities for growth, innovation and success in our nation’s economic and social development,” he said.
Petrosen has an 18% stake in the project, while Woodside holds the remainder.
Faye, who was elected president in April, has been interested in renegotiating the deal as part of the reforms he promised during the election campaign.
Speaking to students on Tuesday, he said that the income would be “well managed” and that an “intergenerational fund” had been created for the benefit of “his generation and those to come”, quoted the AFP news agency. as saying.
Senegal’s decision to renegotiate oil and gas contracts has been seen by some analysts as making investors nervous, but government supporters say it is vital for the West African state to increase its participation in projects so that the nation benefit from its natural resources.
Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, a former opposition politician who was a key figure in the president’s election campaign, recently insisted that contracts signed by previous administrations were “unfavorable” to the country and would be reviewed.
“We were the ones who promised that we would renegotiate the contracts and we will do so. We have already started,” he said, citing AFP, in a speech to young people on Tuesday.
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